


Tobias and Me

by jashykins



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 14:13:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1747517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jashykins/pseuds/jashykins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tobias is evading the Yeerks and runs into a human called Cat. He then promises himself to get her back to Earth safely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tobias and Me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a present for a friend of mine.

My name is Tobias and it had been a very stressful day. Extremely stressful.  
  
I dodged a Dracon Beam and managed to slice the Hork-Bajir Controller's face with my own wrist blades. I had been a human boy and then had been trapped in a Red-Tailed Hawk body. With the help of a being called the Ellimist I had regained my morphing ability. One of the morphs I had acquired had been a Hork-Bajir.  
  
I continued to battle through the group of Hork-Bajir Controllers and worried that I couldn't hold up. Even if I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I wasn't an Andalite I still couldn't demorph during battle. Not unless I was an extremely talented Estreen.  
  
I pushed a Hork-Bajir into others of his kind and raced down another hallway. I didn't know where I was going and none of the others were with me. Having Ax now would be helpful as he would be the one most likely to know both where to go and what to do when I got there.  
  
Looking out one of the windows on the Pool ship I saw space with no Earth in sight. I had been running around for a little bit and had seen no sign of anything but asteroids outside of the ship.  
  
Dammit! Hopefully what I was seeing was the Asteroid Belt and getting back to Earth would be relatively easy.  
  
As a Dracon Beam grazed my tail I started blaming this all on Rachel. If she hadn't reacted so badly I wouldn't need to impress her. And if I didn't need to impress her I'd be in a much different situation. A situation where I'd be doing normal hawk stuff like hunting rabbits.  
  
I sliced a Hork-Bajir open and felt sightly guilty as I recalled what the Free Hork-Bajir had told me. That they were a peaceful race and all of the fighting they now did was because of the Yeerks.  
  
Running into a room I found a bunch of Bug fighters. I would get out of here soon and the Escafil device would be safe on Earth again. It was hidden in one of my morphs. I had been meditating with it, something I was doing recently due to Rachel's fight with me, and had gotten involved with some Controllers.  
  
Maybe it was because of my anger and need to impress Rachel that I did something so senseless.  
  
Whatever the case was, I rushed into the nearest Bug fighter.  
  
After a few painful seconds I managed to close the door to the Bug fighter and heard Controllers gathering around outside the fighter. The pressure of figuring out the controls of the ship made me want to give up. But if I gave up they'd get both the Escafil Device and knowledge about the Animorphs back on Earth.  
  
I looked around and wished that I had asked Ax about Yeerk technology. If I had maybe this task wouldn't seem so impossible.  
  
The first Dracon Beam hit the side of the fighter and I hissed out of the Hork-Bajir mouth. I needed to focus on what I was doing.  
  
Guessing on what to do I was able to clumsily get the fighter out of the Pool ship and fly out.  
  
"Yes!" I shouted out in excitement right before Bug fighters came out of the fighter bay.  
  
"Shit." I hissed and tried to dodge the blasts as I figured out the Z-space controls.  
  
I hit a few buttons and then the scenery changed.  
  
Now I was in Z-space and didn't know if the co-ordinates I had entered would take me back to Earth or to somewhere many light years away.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
 I had messed up. I had messed up good. I could hear Rachel laughing in the back of my mind and I shivered from the sound.  
  
Fluffing my feathers I looked out into deep space. Or maybe it wasn't deep space at all. Maybe if I kept on going in the direction I was already going I'd see Jupiter. Hell, maybe I'd see Earth's Moon.  
  
I looked at my Red-Tailed Hawk reflection on the inside of the Bug fighter. This was the last thing of home I would ever see. A hawk where one didn't belong and a boy in a body he wasn't born in. Though, truth be told, I belonged in this body more than I did in my old one.  
  
Maybe that's why Rachel and I were apart for the moment. Or maybe she wouldn't have been meant for me even if I hadn't become a nothlit.  
  
Hours had passed and I kept staring in the dark that was littered with tiny spots of lights that were stars. The thought of going into Z-space again crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.  
  
Even though going back into Z-space would mean I had the chance of returning home sooner, it could also mean that I'd end up farther away from home than I was now.  
  
So all I did was keep on looking out into space for hours, or maybe it was days, as I waited for something to happen. Even if that thing was the Bug fighter randomly exploding.  
  
At least I wouldn't have to worry about my family worrying about me. My father had been eaten by Visser Three and my mother was dead. And my Aunt and Uncle couldn't muster even a shit to give about me.  
  
Suddenly I saw something on the Bug fighter's view screen. It didn't appear to be anything from the Yeerks and so I decided I had to communicate with it. If it turned out to be bad news then at least something would happen.  
  
I worked at the controls and tried to figure out how to contact the alien craft.  
  
 _Hello? Hello?_ I kept asking as I tried to contact the aliens.  
  
As I waited and thought that my lack of knowledge of alien technology would be the death of me, I heard a reply.  
  
It appeared to be a form of the language that the Hork-Bajir Controllers on Earth used. I think Ax had said it was Galard and it was the language used for trading. I concentrated on figuring out what the alien was saying.  
  
I assumed the alien had said some form of a greeting.  
  
 _I am-_ I began and then the alien replied angrily in Galard.  
  
 _I mean no harm. I am just in need._ I told the alien and then got a good glimpse at the alien's ship.  
  
The ship reminded me of the cheesy sci-fi movies where aliens are invading the Earth. That could only mean that I was talking to a Skrit Na. The Skrit Na were cowards that never took sides in any conflict. At least according to Ax.  
  
 _I'll make a trade._ I told the Skrit Na. _I have been to the planet Earth recently and can give you a piece of human clothing. Help me get back to Earth and I'll let you have it._  
  
While I waited for their response I morphed a Hork-Bajir before letting them see me. And when they did see me the conversation was a little more than awkward. They quickly found out that I couldn't understand them and assumed it was because my translator chip had been broken.  
  
I assumed part of the conversation directly following that was asking if they could remove the chip from my head. To this I angrily shook my head.  
  
The final bit of the conversation had us agreeing to some sort of truce. All I had to do was follow them to a planet that was close by. As I followed them I demorphed and waited until the planet was in sight before morphing back to Hork-Bajir.  
  
Landing on the alien planet was awkward for a few reasons. The first being that going on any other planet than Earth was still something I wasn't used to. The second being that the whole planet seemed to be covered by a forest.  
  
But it wasn't a forest like on Earth. The trees seemed to be creatures that couldn't move while I saw a few flying creatures that had pieces of leaves attached to their bodies.  
  
All in all it was different than Earth.  
  
When I landed and met up with the Skrit Na I saw them coming out with some cargo. I guess they wanted to show how awesome they were before accepting my payment. That they didn't have to accept my offer, but they were going to because they were kind. I held out a little bit of my morphing suit, I had morphed to human very briefly after contacting the Skrit Na, and I somehow felt beaten by these aliens.  
  
Then a piece of the cargo came out and I was beyond shocked.  
  
Ax had told me that the Skrit Na would take creatures of primitive planets and put them into zoos. But it's one thing to hear that and another thing to see a human being lead out like an item.  
  
The human was a young woman, in her early twenties, and seemed to be wearing a hearing aid. Maybe the Skrit Na chose her because of what they would see as an odd alien device. She didn't look happy and I knew that I had to get her back home.  
  
No matter what.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
I sat on the log in my Hork-Bajir morph. Now that the Skrit Na had seen me in this morph I couldn't change back. Maybe they'd just assume that I was stuck in morph and so couldn't demorph. Maybe they would connect my non-working translator chip into this theory somehow.  
  
Whatever the case would be, I would remain in Hork-Bajir morph as long as I could since if I demorphed the Skrit Na could pass on the information to the Yeerks. I knew they wouldn't actively seek out the parasitic slugs, but if threatened they'd admit anything to live.  
  
"What are you?" The woman asked.  
  
I turned my head and looked at her. The woman had appeared weak and fragile when I had first looked at her, but she seemed stronger now. Maybe not strong enough to take on the whole Yeerk Empire by herself, but strong enough not to lose herself while with the Skrit Na.  
  
"Andalite." I lied and felt guilty.  
  
But I didn't have a plan yet and if she was taken as a Controller and got the information back to Earth...well, I would be the one to sign the death warrants for my friends. The only hope humans had to remain a free species of the galaxy.  
  
"I'm Tobias." I told her.  
  
"That doesn't sound like an alien name." She replied. "Sounds like a human one."  
  
"I've been hiding on Earth for awhile, kind of forgot my real name."  
  
"You forgot your name?"  
  
"Hey, I've been hiding for a long time."  
  
The woman laughed for a minute before she calmed down enough to say, "Okay, Tobias."  
  
"What's your name?" I asked, not knowing why I was embarrassed about asking the question.  
  
"Cat." She replied. "You're kinder than the other aliens."  
  
"The Skrit Na." I said. "They're...not the most noble of the aliens. They are hoarders of other cultures."  
  
"Like me?"  
  
"Yeah, like you." I explained to her while trying not to vomit because I thought of innocent people being taken to the Skrit Na home world to live the rest of their lives in a zoo exhibit. "They go to primitive worlds and collect things. The natives of those planets can be taken from time to time."  
  
"So I'm not the first one?" Cat asked.  
  
"No." I replied. "My-an Andalite Prince got involved with some humans that were captured by the Skrit Na when he was still an Aristh."  
  
"What's an Aristh?"  
  
"It's a cadet in the Andalite military." I said. "That's what I am."  
  
Cat put a hand on my arm nervously. I wanted to laugh because I was nervous about her touching me. Not because red-tailed hawks aren't usually touched but because of a reason I couldn't explain. I just felt nervous of her touching me because then she could tell me about that reason.  
  
"You'll get back to them." Cat reassured me.  
  
"And I'll get you back home." I said and hoped it wasn't in the same fashion my father arrived to Earth the second time.  
  
"Why would an Andalite care?"  
  
"Some of us are assholes, but some of us actually care. I am one of those that care is all."  
  
Cat started rubbing my arm as I was tensing up. I liked the feeling as it was the only human touch I could have at the moment.  
  
"I'm better." I said and tried to smile with my Hork-Bajir mouth.  
  
Cat quickly removed her hand from my arm.  
  
"I won't bite." I reassured her, suddenly worried.  
  
"It's not that." Cat tried to explain. "I just...don't like being physical with people. A lot of the time they expect something more with just a little kindness."  
  
I didn't know how to respond. Marco or Cassie could respond better than me. Marco would have a sarcastic and insensitive remark about how he was too hot for any mortal woman ready. Cassie would have a good explanation about how Cat shouldn't worry all prepared.  
  
But right now there was only me talking to Cat.  
  
"I understand how some people could be." I said as best as I could. "But right now I just need to get back to Earth so you can go home and I can continue to fight the Yeerks."  
  
"And even if you didn't have all that to consider, would you try to hit on me?" Cat asked.  
  
"I wouldn't hit on you if you didn't like it."  
  
"Lots of people don't hit on me even when I would like it."  
  
I put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Then they're fools. You aren't trash, Cat, and the Skrit Na have abducted more than they thought they did."  
  
Cat looked from my hand to my face. She had a confused expression on her face and I was suddenly embarrassed.  
  
"I just mean to not doubt yourself."  
  
A small grin appeared on her face and she nodded.  
  
"So do you want to explain the Yeerks?" Cat asked and I started to explain.  
  
It was a hell of a lot easier to talk about the Yeerks than to explain about my previous statement. I wasn't in a relationship with Rachel right now, but any budding feelings for Cat wouldn't be appreciated by my former girlfriend. We had breakups before and we always got back together.  
  
I wanted to be with Rachel again, even though our relationship was wearing a little thin to me. And if I acted on any feelings towards Cat, my relationship with Rachel would be over.  
  
Talking to Cat was nice. I didn't yet know how or if I would get back home to Earth. I could only hope and talking to the woman was reassuring. When she couldn't hear me that well I would resort to thought speak to get a point across.  
  
She showed interest in the topic of Yeerks. Or maybe it was the fact that we didn't have to discuss our feelings for the other that made the topic so interesting to her. We could each pretend that when we got to Earth we wouldn't speak again. But we might meet up once or twice after that and then go our separate ways. Who knew? We had to get to Earth first.  
  
I had told her I planned to take her home though I didn't know how. That didn't seem to surprise her.  
  
Hork-Bajirs can hear very well. So it was with Hork-Bajir hearing that I heard the Skrit Na converse between themselves. I stood up and Cat tensed as if to prepare herself to fight. It wasn't the movements of a seasoned warrior, but it was the movements of someone scared that was getting prepared to react to something they had no clue how to.  
  
"Hang on." I told her and went over to the Skrit Na.  
  
 _What's going on?_ I asked them as the last Skrit Na went into their ship. _We had a deal!_  
  
I knew they wouldn't keep the deal if they thought they'd die by helping me. Useless cowards! They were so scared that they had left some of their cargo. That must mean...  
  
"What is it?" Cat asked and I would've jumped if I hadn't heard her approach me.  
  
"Yeerks." I replied with loathing in my voice.  
  
I didn't know if I was more angry at the Skrit Na abandoning me or the Yeerks as a whole. I knew that all Yeerks weren't evil, Aftran being one of the good ones, and so I hoped I wasn't hating Yeerks as a whole.  
  
"Let's go to my ship." I said and I didn't have to grab Cat's arm for her to start moving.  
  
"Are you sure?" She asked, fear permeating her question.  
  
"The Skrit Na wouldn't abandon you if it wasn't a big danger. Yeerks are the baddest thing in the galaxy."  
  
I didn't bring up the Ellimist or Crayak. Those two beings were more powerful than the Yeerks by a long shot, but I didn't know how much the Skrit Na knew about those two. Besides, if those two wanted to attack anyone there wouldn't be much of a fight. There wouldn't be enough time to even begin to explain them to Cat.  
  
As those thoughts went through my head I could see some Bug fighters coming in the distance as the Skrit Na went away.  
  
"Bug fighters!" I shouted to Cat and we started to run towards my Bug fighter.  
  
I made sure to stay equal to her speed and not go too far away from her. If there was one thing I didn't want to happen, it was to let her die on an alien planet.  
  
As we got close to my Bug fighter the enemy Bug fighters started firing around the area. They must have tracked it somehow. Who knew how, maybe a tracker they put on all their ships. I'd ask Ax when I got back. If I got back.  
  
By pure instict I covered Cat with my body, though that wouldn't do anything if they started firing at us. It's not like Hork-Bajir skin is strong enough to stand laser based weapons. But it was the only thing I could think to do at the moment.  
  
I looked at my fighter and watched as it exploded. The movies prepare you only for a little bit of how big explosions are when you're close to one. The heat of the explosion seemed beyond huge and little bits flew towards Cat and myself. I managed to only get a few minor cuts and Cat only had a cut on her arm.  
  
Cat screamed in pain and I turned to our only way home now destroyed. The Yeerks must have wanted to make me feel helpless as they could've just erased it from existence. At least that's how it would appear as.  
  
"Run." I hissed and shook my head before Cat could ask. "No time to think, just run."  
  
As we raced across the alien landscape, the enemy Bug fighters shooting at random around us, I was scared. Especially for Cat. At least I had the ability to morph but she was just human. Being human wasn't bad in normal circumstances, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. This was way beyond normal.  
  
I'd have to give her the morphing ability. And if she was captured? No, she wouldn't be captured. I'd make sure of it.  
  
We ran for a long time, or at least it appeared like a long time to me, before hearing a sound. I turned my head slightly and saw some of the natives. They looked like cats in the sense of Ewoks looking like little bears. Each looked deadly but adorable in the same instant.  
  
I was about to ask them what they were and if they were friendly. But, before I could, it appeared very clear that they were trying to direct us.  
  
"Friends?" Cat managed to ask.  
  
"Hopefully." I replied and we began to follow the creatures.  
  
We eventually ended up going into an entrance located at the bottom of a tree. My Hork-Bajir stomach growled as it looked at the bark. I had to resist and followed the small entrance, with Cat behind me, into what eventually ended up being a small little neighborhood of these creatures.  
  
As Cat and I looked around I realized that now I didn't have a way to check how much time I had been in morph. Nor did I have an internal clock like Andalites did.  
  
I didn't know if any of these creatures were Controllers or if they would ultimately sell me out to the Yeerks. But I had no choice. I didn't want to become a nothlit.  
  
So, pushing back any fear I had to the deepest part of my mind, I demorphed. My blades turned into feathers first and I shrank before any other features of my red-tailed hawk morph took form.  
  
When I finished morphing I looked at Cat.  
  
 _Hi._ I said to her look of astonishment.  
  
Cat just looked at me for a few minutes and I felt ashamed. I should’ve told her what I was. I didn’t want her to find out what I was this way. But there was no right way to show her what I was.  
  
However, having a Hork-Bajir transform into a red-tailed hawk was probably up there on the worst ways to tell someone.  
  
 _I’m Tobias._ I said, not wanting to say my last name. I didn’t want these aliens to find out.    
“Who are you?” Cat asked.  
   
 _I need a little bit to explain that to you. Maybe over food? I’m starving myself._ I said and was wondering why I was suddenly embarrassed about her misinterpreting that as an invitation to a date.   “Yeah,” She replied. “The Skrit Na didn’t give me much in the way of food.”  
  
  _So...what do we call you?_ I asked the strange cat creatures.   “Vetors.” One of the creatures said. It seemed to take a lot of time for him, or her, to say the word. Not because it was hard to pronounce but because he seemed afraid of me.  
  
 _That’s your species?_ I asked.    
The Vetor nodded in reply.  
  
Some of the Vetors then got a piece of a log for me to perch on and brought out food. They brought me uncooked meat of one of the native animals while Cat got cooked meat. Though it was on the rare side. The very rare side. Hopefully it didn’t make her sick, although I was planning to give her the morphing ability so that shouldn’t matter.  
  
Though me and the other Animorphs had found some morphing problems and now would not be the time to find another one. Back on Earth there was Ax to explain things, here I would be helpless to help Cat.  
  
“So, who are you?” Cat asked as she took a bite into the strange meat.   
  
 _I am…was a human called Tobias. I stayed over the two hour morphing limit. Morphing is how I became a Hork-Bajir. It allows me to turn into anything I touch._ I said as I swallowed a piece of the meat.    
“How can you get your morphing ability back if you stay over the…time limit?”  
  
 _The Ellimist._ I said simply and the Vetors that were around us bowed their heads in respect. _Though I wouldn’t recommend making deals with that guy. My friends and I use the morphing ability to fight off the Yeerk invasion of Earth. It’s our only weapon._   “How old are you and your friends?”  
  
 _We’re teenagers._  
  
“Teens?”  
 _Yeah. And since a quick ride home on the Bug fighter isn’t an option and now you might be far away from home for awhile…I’m thinking of giving you the same ability as me._  
   
Cat just stared at me. It took her a moment to swallow the meat. I could understand how afraid she was. Hell, when I met my Dad and was granted the ability to morph I was scared. Finding out something life changing like the fact that we aren’t alone and only you can stop the Yeerks is shocking even for an adult.  
   
 _I don’t want you to think you need to join the fight._ I finally said. _But to survive out here you might need to be something more than human._  
   
“More than human?” Cat asked. “Just like that you’re asking me-“  
   
 _To have a better chance of making it back to Earth alive. I’ve seen a lot of shit, Cat. I’ve seen omnipotent beings and I’ve seen such horrors that…I can’t allow you to die with no way to fight back. I can’t do that. I’m not that kind of person._ “But when I’m back on Earth-“  
  
 _You can go your own way and not tell the Yeerks about me and my friends. Also, not getting captured would help._  
  
Cat then focused on eating. She focused on eating and I allowed her to. I had told her about what I was, at least some of the story, and the fact that if she went back to Earth she would know about Controllers. Even living life as a hawk, Controllers freaked me out. The fact that anyone could be infested by a Yeerk scared the crap out of me.  
  
“But I don’t have to fight?” She finally asked.  
   
 _No,_ I replied. _You’re under no obligation to join the fight._  
  
“But what if I want to?”  
  
 _I’m sure Jake, my leader, would let you in._ I said. _If I say you’re trustworthy I think he’ll believe me._  
  
“I’ll do it.” Cat said after pausing a moment.  
  
 _Let’s finish eating first._ I said and we did so.  
As I ate I became more afraid. It wasn’t that I thought she was going to be another David, but I was still going to be giving her both a blessing and a curse. What if she ended up like me. A nothlit. I highly doubted that the Ellimist would grant Cat her ability to morph back if she stayed over the morphing limit. If he did that for every nothlit, the term most likely wouldn’t mean what it does now.  
  
After we finished eating the Vetors left us in peace, though I could tell they were still watching us. I didn’t blame them, we were an alien species that were friends at the moment. But that could change and they had to be prepared for that.  
  
I focused on my human morph. The morph that had been who I was before I became trapped. Now I was a combination of a bird plus a boy and I didn’t know which one I was more of at times. As I demorphed I became taller and my human skin and morphing suit took precedence over actual human features.  
  
As my wings disappeared I became nearly as nervous as when my talons changed into toes. My eyesight weakened and the last thing to come into being was my mouth.  
  
“Hi.” I said to Cat.  
  
Her face was a mixture of scared and interested. I didn’t blame her as I wasn’t an estreen and couldn’t make morphing look good if I wanted too. That was Cassie’s thing, really.  
  
“Oh, the cube.” I said after a few minutes of us looking at each other.  
  
I took the cube from beneath my morphing outfit and held it out on my palm, inviting her to touch it.  
  
“So do you always travel with that around?” Cat asked.  
  
“No. I was mediating with it before…I had a confrontation with some Yeerks. I managed to hide it before the attack with the Yeerks really began. When I was following the Skrit Na I put it in a better position.” I explained.  
  
“What position was it in before?”  
  
“Er…one that was uncomfortable.”  
  
“So what do I have to do?”  
  
“Just touch the cube and concentrate.”  
  
As she reached to touch the blue box she looked up at me. I wished her eyes weren’t so trusting. It was like she expected me to know what to do when really I was just guessing. When Cat touched the box a smile formed on her face and then she backed away. I put it back where it had been before.  
  
“I’m sorry about lying what I was.” I said, a blush forming on my cheeks now that I was human.  
  
“Well at least you were bad at it.” She replied and I was silent. “Oh, come on, it was like you weren’t even trying. Of course I guessed that you were human."  
  
A few minutes after I gave Cat the ability to morph, I demorphed. If something were going to happen I needed to be in my hawk body. I could morph something else or fly away. But, of course, I couldn’t fly away at once since Cat was with me. I had given her the ability to morph so that I could better protect her. Leaving her alone would be counterproductive.  
  
But what to have her morph? I didn’t want to have her acquire a Vetor for a few reasons. The reasons being that Vetors were sentient and I didn’t know their instincts. Last thing I needed was for Cat to become out of control her first time around. However, having her morph a Vetor could help her fit in better if need be.  
  
I didn’t want to be rude, so I decided asking was out of the question.  
  
“Am I going to morph one of them?” Cat asked and looked at a Vetor.  
  
 _No,_ I replied. _I don’t know their instincts and I don’t want your first morph to be something I can’t understand. Plus us Animorphs have a rule about morphing sentient beings._  
  
“Why?”  
  
 _The majority of the group isn’t sure of how much of the animal you get when you acquire it. As a nothlit I’ve noticed the animal mind can change you but it doesn’t grow. It’s instincts and not an actual animal. I’ve tried to explain that to the rest of the group, but they won’t listen._  
  
“And because of that you won’t let me acquire one? Because of a reason you don’t believe?”  
  
 _I’m representing the group. I’m doing it for their sakes, not mine. Morphing a Vetor could help you fit in, but I’m not going to ask unless I have to._  
  
For a minute we were both silent. I tried to figure out what she could morph. I’d ask a Vetor about the animal life on this planet.  
  
“What about morphing you?” Cat asked and I just looked at her.  
  
 _You can’t acquire a person who is morphed._ I replied.  
  
“But technically you’re a red-tailed hawk since you morph to other creatures.”  
  
 _Okay, if this doesn’t work I guess you can acquire a Vetor. You just touch me and concentrate on what I mean to you._  
  
Cat put a hand on me and I shivered. The concept that Cat would become me was so odd and foreign that it was just plain creepy.  
  
A calm sensation went through my body and I became very relaxed. It was like the war with the Yeerks didn’t matter and that being far from Earth was funny. There was something so great about this feeling that I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to fight with this calmness because I wouldn’t experience pain ever again.  
  
“Tobias?” Cat asked and I came out of the trance. “You okay? You seemed to go distant there.”  
  
 _I’m okay. When you acquire something the animal tends to go into a trance._ I explained and didn’t let her know that I didn’t like being removed from the trance. _And remember to concentrate on the red-tailed hawk so you’ll morph. Just be prepared for the hawk mind to be there when you finish morphing._  
  
“Can I keep my clothes?”  
  
 _No. Once we get back to Earth I’ll get you a morphing suit, though. Those we can morph_. I paused and turned around. _Just tell me when you’re finished morphing. And none of you Vetors look unless you are certain that she’s about to attack you._  
  
The Vetors said something and I just glared at them. When I was human, looking at people didn’t stop them from beating me up. Hawk eyes were something completely different. They looked threatening constantly. Even when I was happy it looked like I was about to murder someone. The Vetors turned around and didn’t look at either me or Cat.  
  
I worried since I couldn’t guide Cat through the whole morphing process. I couldn’t look and see where she was in the process and so I couldn’t reassure her. Just reassuring her constantly through the whole morphing process wasn’t me. I couldn’t do that and feel honest.  
  
Suddenly I heard a flap of wings and saw Cat flying around. I could imagine the fear in her as her hawk mind felt trapped. I felt like I was trapped, but I had pushed that feeling so far back that I had forgotten about it. Good one, Tobias.  
  
I then remembered that Cat was hearing impaired and so wore a hearing aid. I looked around and didn’t see it. Good, it must have acted like my morphing suit in that it stayed with her. Hopefully the same thing would happen next time she morphed.  
  
 _Cat! Cat!_ I shouted and then started to fly after her.  
  
I thought that if I could grab on to her and push her to the ground I could wake up the human side of her. I could remind her of what she was.  
  
 _Cat!_ I shouted and then she wobbled slightly in the air before regaining balance.  
  
 _Tobias?_ She asked as she landed on the log that I had been on. _I’m sorry I just felt tr-_  
  
 _Trapped._ I said as I landed next to her. _That’s the hawk mind talking. It’s afraid and doesn’t like being below ground. Our…its place is in the trees and in the air. Not underground._  
  
 _How do you deal with it?_  
  
 _I don’t know. I just focus on myself and what I have to do. The hawk’s mind can guide you, but don’t let it control you._  
  
 _I won’t._ She said and shivered.  
  
I looked at one of the Vetors and said, _Vetor, is there a way off of the planet that we can reach?_  
  
Over the next hour, by which time Cat had demorphed, the Vetors explained to us how to get to a small Yeerk base on the planet. I was impressed that Cat seemed to pick up the Vetor language better than me. She didn’t have experience with aliens, minus the Skrit Na, and I did.  
  
When we were sure of where to go, Cat morphed back into a hawk and we left the Vetor village.  
  
 _Wow!_ Cat shouted when we were finally able to go into the sky. _Wow!_  
  
I laughed as I could only barley grasp at what she was experiencing. Flying was the best feeling in the world and her first experience, real experience, was flying on an alien planet.  
  
 _You’re doing great._ I said a few times and she laughed back at me.  
  
If I had been human at the moment, I would’ve smiled.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
 _I can hear!_ Cat shouted.  
  
For the past five minutes Cat had been pointing out everything she could hear and do while being a hawk. I felt like I was being complimented and that was one of the reasons that I was allowing her to continue. The other was that it would be rude to tell her to stop.  
  
This was her first time really exploring a morph and she should revel in it. It wouldn’t be like that every time she morphed, after all. Some morphs were horrifying and other times there wasn’t enough time to take delight in different morphs.  
  
Cat had mentioned the fact that she could hear better a couple of times and I didn’t blame her.  
  
 _I’m sure some of the others will tell you morphs that have better hearing than a red-tailed hawk_. I told her. _I prefer my hawk morph above everything else._  
  
 _I don’t blame you for liking this hawk morph._ Cat said  
  
 _Thank you._ I replied as I couldn’t think of what else to say.  
  
While I was paying attention to Cat, I still looked down at the ground. The alien landscape was amazing, to say the least. It was breathtaking to realize that I was flying over an alien landscape. Of course the fact was that I still had to figure out how to get back to Earth. I needed to get back home so I could continue the fight and to make sure that Cat also got back home.  
  
 _Where did you live before you got abducted?_ I asked Cat.  
  
 _England._ Cat said. _Wasn’t a Hork-Bajir the morph you were in when you met me?_  
  
Before I could ask her why she wanted that confirmed I saw a group of Hork-Bajir. They looked like they were on patrol more than that they were trying to find us. Maybe the Yeerks didn’t find me that important or there were others out to get me.  
  
Probably the latter.  
  
 _Yes, those are Hork-Bajir._ I told her. _Probably scouts._  
  
 _So that means we’re close to the base?_ She asked.  
  
 _And our way home._  
  
I was happy. Finally the way back was looking clearer. I’d still need to figure out the right co-ordinates but I think I had a better idea of the controls of a Bug fighter now. If I didn’t, we would hopefully arrive back home before the Yeerks completed their invasion of Earth.  
  
 _Do you think I could acquire one?_ Cat asked. _If you don’t have a hang up about the whole intelligence thing._  
  
 _I don’t have any problem with you acquiring one. The Hork-Bajir I acquired gave me permission. But any Hork-Bajir here will be a Controller so you don’t have that option. Plus sneaking in and fighting will be much easier while being a Hork-Bajir._  
  
 _Won’t any of your friends disagree?_  
  
 _Cassie, maybe, but the others won’t get mad. Or at least they won’t show me that they’re mad._ _So how do I go about acquiring one?_  
  
I had to think. Cat acquiring one was a necessity now since a Hork-Bajir wouldn’t look out of place at a Yeerk base. Plus the fact that if Cat decided she wanted to fight the Yeerks on Earth then that would be a good battle morph. If she didn’t worry about Hork-Bajir being intelligent, she would find the morph very useful.  
  
Hell, if she decided she wanted to use fire arms she could. She could become more of a danger than Rachel in her grizzly bear morph. Not that any of us would tell Rachel that if Cat became that good.  
  
 _We need to draw one away from the group_. I replied. _But that would mean that there would be a time where you would be vulnerable and they would see that you have the morphing power._  
  
I didn’t go on to say that if the Yeerks saw one human with the ability to morph that they might assume the Andalite bandits weren’t all Andalites.  
  
 _Which one?_ Cat asked.  
  
 _I don’t know. It will be whichever one doesn’t stay with the group._ I replied.  
  
 _So it will be random._  
  
 _Yeah._  
  
 _But it will be worth getting the morph, right?_ Cat asked after a long pause.  
  
 _Yes._ I said. The plan was about to be set into motion. I was nervous as I was the one in charge. Jake was the one who should be commanding both Cat and myself, but he wasn’t here. It was just me and Cat on an alien world far from home.  
  
 _Ready?_ I asked her.  
  
 _Yes._ Cat replied, trying not to show how nervous she was.  
  
I looked down at the Hork-Bajir and wondered how to draw them out. For now we weren’t in their eyesight, but that would change very quickly. In a few minutes we would have had to made our move or fail.  
  
 _Stay behind me and wait for a Hork-Bajir to leave the rest of the group_. I told her. _Or make a distraction somehow to attract one. Just don’t sound too human._  
  
With that I flew away from her. I thought of how to attract the group’s attention. Yelling? Attacking them? Just showing that I existed? But how to also have it so that one wouldn’t join the others in chasing me?  
  
I didn’t have time for subtlety and dove down while letting my hawk beak screech. This attracted all the Hork-Bajir and they pointed their Dracon beams upward.  
  
I flew back up to try to escape getting killed, but a few tail feathers were singed in the process. Wow! Holy shit! That was beyond stupid. I turned around and tried to see if at least one Hork-Bajir was gone. Nope, they were still all there.  
  
I swooped and tried to lead them around. Hoping, all the while, that Cat would somehow lead a Hork-Bajir away from the group. I had to continually dodge enemy fire as they didn’t let up an inch. They kept firing away and I kept trying not to die.  
  
If I was injured and had to morph to fight them, then I would have to kill all of them. I couldn’t do that even if I tried. And what if any of them called back to base to tell the other Yeerks about me before they died? No, morphing something like a Hork-Bajir to fight them wasn’t an option at this point.  
  
Probably should have done that before I did what I was doing now.  
  
But I couldn’t change plans now. I flew up and checked how many Hork-Bajir there were. Yes! One was missing! Now all I had to do was lose the Hork-Bajir and go back to Cat.  
Which was really easier said than done.  
  
I saw a thick group of trees and lead the Hork-Bajir there. Every flap of my wings had me dodging Dracon beams. When I got them to where I wanted them, part of my wing was shot and I wobbled in the air.  
  
I steadied myself and found myself able to fly away, but I kept flying lower and lower.  
  
 _Tobias, I did it! He’s knocked out! I acquired him!_ Cat shouted and I could tell that she had been repeating the same thing for awhile now.  
  
 _Good!_ I said and looked around for her.  
  
 _You’re hurt._ Cat said softly as I landed by her on the ground.  
  
 _I’ll be fine._ I reassured her. _Morphing only affects DNA so this isn’t permanent. You need to demorph to acquire him._  
  
Cat was silent for a minute. In that time I was able to reflect on a few things. The fact was that she really did care for me. The way she had acted when she saw me made that clear. It wasn’t just the care you gave someone rescuing you, it was something more. Or was that just me? Was that only what I was hoping she was feeling?  
  
The other thing was more physical.  
  
The others were right that my usual look nowadays seemed like I was always about to murder someone. While I knew that Cat cared about me, how she was looking at me seemed deadly no matter her intention. How did the others deal with that look?  
  
 _I already acquired him._ Cat finally said. _I just morphed so that I could communicate with you. You didn’t answer for awhile._  
  
 _Thought-speak has limited range._ I explained. _I was out of range._  
  
 _I’m going to demorph, will you look away?_  
  
 _If the Controller wakes up I’ll need to know. Sorry._  
  
Cat just nodded and demorphed. I was highly embarrassed of having to look at her while she demorphed. She was a good looking woman, but she didn’t want me looking at her. I was intruding. If she had wanted me to look at her it would’ve been an entirely different matter. I would’ve been enjoying myself, to say the least.  
  
To distract myself from this awkward moment I kept a careful eye on the Hork-Bajir. I was ready to attack him if need be. I couldn’t morph a Hork-Bajir quickly enough, but I could give Cat a chance. Luckily the Controller didn’t move.  
  
I breathed a sigh of relief after five minutes of waiting for her to morph again.  
  
 _You sure you’re up for that much morphing in a short amount of time?_ I asked.  
  
“I don’t have a choice.” Cat said as she finished her morph. “Wow.”  
  
 _Calm mind._ I said as I started to morph a Hork-Bajir.  
  
I seemed to fly upwards as I grew. I gave a sigh of relief when I saw that my wound had healed. I knew that was going to happen, but I was still happy about it.  
  
“So what are we going to do about him?” Cat asked and pointed to the Controller when I had finished morphing.  
  
I looked around and then started cutting into a tree. I made a nice little hole in the tree that would be nearly perfect for the Controller.  
  
“So we’re just going to put the body into the tree until he wakes up?” Cat asked and I cringed.  
  
“You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to.” I said slowly.  
  
“Watch you kill him.”  
  
I nodded slowly. It wasn’t like it was an option I wanted. I didn’t want to kill an innocent being, but the Controller would say what he had seen and that couldn’t happen.  
  
“It’s us or them.” Cat said in disgust.  
  
“You don-“ I began.  
  
“Yes I do.” She said and then helped me slit the Hork-Bajir’s throat and stuff him in the tree. It was in this moment that I wanted Cassie to be there to stop us. For her to tell us that we were wrong for doing this. But she wasn’t.   
As some blood dripped down my arm I looked at Cat’s Hork-Bajir face. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to have any of this happen to her. Without meaning to, I touched her face and she looked into my eyes. I tried to show, with a look alone, how sorry I was for her.  
  
Cat put one of her hands on my face and we stood like that for a few minutes.  
  
“We should go back home now.” I told her.  
  
 She nodded and we put our hands by our sides.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Me and the other Animorphs had done some risky things in the past. Our first mission was at a Yeerk pool and later we had followed a strange message. Luckily the latter had led us to Ax, Elfangor’s younger brother. So breaking into a Yeerk base to steal a ship to fly back home wasn’t exactly out of the norm.  
  
What did make this seem different, at least to me, was that I was bringing Cat on this mission. Even though there was no other choice, the fact was that this was her first mission and I didn’t know how she would handle it.  
  
Would she make it so that we couldn’t complete the mission or would she not let anything faze her? _Remember, act natural._ I reminded her as we entered the base.   
 _I know!_ She shouted.  
  
I was very glad that I had told her multiple times about private thought speak as we walked towards the base. If I didn’t, that shout would’ve given us away.  
  
As we were stopped by the guards, I grew highly nervous. What if they asked us something and then I couldn’t reply? I couldn’t understand the Hork-Bajir Controllers on Earth so how would I understand these ones?  
  
Fortunately all it turned out I had to do was act confident. I looked them in the eyes as they talked and acted like I knew what they were saying. I had used the same tactic with my Aunt and Uncle. I pretended to act like I gave a shit so that they would act like they cared. In the brief moments they felt like acting as if they cared so they could give themselves a little ego boost.  
  
This worked on the guards as they thought that I was actually listening when I didn’t know what the Hell they were saying. I looked at Cat, through the corner of my eye, to see how she was holding up. She seemed a little nervous but she was acting calm enough. Hopefully she didn’t do anything that would alert the Controllers to the fact that we were just two scared kids.  
  
The guards waved us through after a few minutes.  
  
 _Why didn’t they ask you why you didn’t have a Dracon beam?_ Cat asked as she patted her own that was on her leg.  
  
 _I assume they were reprimanding me for losing mine._ I replied. _You did give me a few cuts so it looked like I had been in a fight._  
  
 _You’re sure the Yeerks can be fooled like that?_  
  
 _Hopefully._  
  
With that we continued walking towards the Bug fighters. I did my best to not arouse suspicion and Cat tried to walk around confidently. There were more types of Controllers than just Hork-Bajir and I really hoped we didn’t have to fight any of them. Especially Taxxons who were just creepy. Any creature that was known for being a cannibal and self-cannibal wasn’t one I wanted to be around.  
  
As we were close to the Bug fighters I heard some shouting and turned my head towards the sound. Shit! How would a Controller react? I didn’t know what the Hork-Bajir Controller was saying so I couldn’t even form a way to deceive him.  
  
I was preparing to act annoyed with the Controller and suddenly I heard a Dracon beam go off. I went into a defensive stance and then saw it had been Cat firing her Dracon beam.  
  
 _Guess they weren’t fooled._ Cat said.  
  
 _Figured that out._ I replied.  
  
 _So what’s the plan now?_  
  
 _Run to a ship and hope we don’t die._  
  
She didn’t seem happy about that and I didn’t blame her. We were so close to escaping and now the chances of her dying on an alien planet had just been upped.  
  
Before I could get too far into worry, a Hork-Bajir came up to me and I had to block his blades with my arm. I twisted away before he could seriously wound me but I wasn’t able to land a blow myself. Not even when I had tried to head butt him with my head blades after I had gotten up.  
  
The Controller died from one of Cat’s Dracon beams blasts and I picked up his Dracon beam. I didn’t bother with the settings as I couldn’t tell how to read them and I just assumed that they had been set to kill. It didn’t seem like he had had time to readjust to stun.  
  
I aimed at a Taxxon Controller and watched him go down.  
  
 _Taxxon._ I told Cat. _Cannibalistic space worm, basically._  
  
I watched as some of the Taxxon Controllers got distracted by the dying Controller. It was what made the Taxxons horrible. The fact that they would forget everything when presented with fresh meat was more than a little disturbing. Hell, the Yeerks couldn’t control them from that instinct.  
  
Well…most of the Yeerks as now some Controllers, both Hork-Bajir and Taxxon, were coming after us. I raised my Dracon beam and pointed to a Bug fighter.  
  
 _Let’s go to the one that’s three fighters over to the right of that one._ I told Cat and she nodded.  
  
As we raced over to the fighter, we shot back at the oncoming Controllers. While Hork-Bajir were a walking arsenal, guns did help. Some of their blasts singed my skin and I tried not to let the burns distract me. I couldn’t let them distract me.  
  
The fight soon became a cacophony and I could tell Cat was having some trouble. She had never really heard anything, at least not to the degree a Hork-Bajir does. They have hearing that is even better than a human who is able bodied.  
  
Soon we were rushing inside the fighter with Cat bringing up the rear. I had more experience with a Bug fighter so I had to go first. I wanted her to go in first but that wouldn’t be wise. I quickly shut the door to the fighter and raced to where I could pilot the thing.  
  
I was soon speeding up through the air out into space. As I was rushing to try and figure out the Z-space controls, something struck me. It was Cat. She was more than just a human to be saved to me. She was something more.  
  
I wanted to be with her no matter how little time that would be. I wanted to fly with her and have picnics in my meadow with her.  
  
“Tobias!” Cat shouted and I came back to the present.  
  
“Sorry.” I said as I dodged fire from other Bug fighters.  
  
Just as a killing blast was headed our way, we went into Z-space with me hoping that our next destination would be Earth.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
On tv shows, like Star Trek, journeying through the stars is an amazing and beautiful thing. I’m sure that if I actually knew how to navigate through Z-space with any certainty, I wouldn’t be feeling as anxious. Sure I’d still be afraid that the Yeerks would be waiting for us at the other end and that the Bug fighter might glitch and we’d be out of Z-space before we meant to.  
  
But at least I’d know that, if all went right, that the next planet we would see would be Earth. I wanted to be in my meadow again as it was normal. At least what normal was nowadays.  
  
I looked at Cat who was wearing a makeshift jacket. There had been a few materials lying around that we had put together for her. It didn’t look comfortable as she was constantly moving and making sure that her movements didn’t show off more than she wanted to be shown.  
  
I was back in red-tailed hawk morph and I was glad that I didn’t have to worry about clothing. I didn’t have to worry about being nude. I was usually always nude, unless I went into human morph, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.  
  
“How much longer?” Cat asked.  
  
 _I don’t know._ I replied. _I’m not even sure if when we exit Z-space that we’ll be near Earth._  
  
“I wish you were sure. To think that if we don’t ever reach Earth that the Yeerks could take over and it’d be our fault that it happened.”  
  
 _It would be my fault. I’m the one that is flying us home_. I said, trying to lighten to mood and not make her worry as much.  
  
On one hand I was happy that she would be willing to fight when we got home. On the other hand, though, I didn’t want the guilt to be hers if we never returned home. That should be my guilt to bear and mine alone.  
  
The possibility of exiting Z-space and having a short lived space battle with the Yeerks ending with our deaths took a firm hold in my mind. I had wanted to wait until we had gotten back to Earth to admit my feelings to her, but what if we didn’t have that time? What if we only had this time together until we died?  
  
I didn’t want to die without first admitting my feelings to her.  
  
 _Cat?_ I said and waited for her to look at me. _I…_  
  
I was suddenly embarrassed that I couldn’t say any other words. I started preening myself because I felt awkward. Should you really tell a girl that you just met that you love her? Would she really want to die thinking she was with a creep?  
  
I finally gathered the courage and said _, I love you, Cat. I worked so hard to get you to this point because I want to be with you. I don’t know how long the feeling will last, but I want to be with you as long as it does._  
  
She just sat there. I could look at her eyes but I couldn’t decipher what she was thinking. I didn’t know if she felt the same way or was starting to think that I was a creep. I tried to read her body language and I suddenly realized that I was nervous to the point of not thinking clearly.  
  
After awhile I started to get extremely nervous about what she would say. Finally she kissed the top of my head. The hawk part of me was nervous about that but I was able to control it so I didn’t react in fear to that kiss. It felt good even though a human kissing a hawk shouldn’t seem so normal. But, hey, I had been in a relationship with Rachel previously and she had kissed me while in hawk form.  
  
“Glad it isn’t just me, then.” Cat replied and we hugged.  
  
If anyone had been watching us it would’ve seemed uncomfortable as my wings were trying to wrap around her like arms and her arms were wrapped around me. But it was the most comfortable I had been in awhile.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
I tried to calm down as an alarm had just sounded to alert the two of us that we were about to exit Z-space. Cat had a hand on my back and I was perched in front of the controls watching. In less than a blink of an eye we were out of Z-space with a planet before us.  
  
 _Yes!_ I shouted before I realized I had said the word out loud.  
  
I turned to see what Cat’s expression was. I felt relieved when I saw a wide smile on her face. We had done it. We had made it back home. All we had to do now was avoid the attention of Visser Three.  
  
“So all we do is fly to your meadow?” Cat asked.  
  
 _Yeah. Just look at the sensors and tell me if anything strange pops up._ I told her. _Visser Three’s Blade ship might be in orbit and the Yeerks might see us._  
  
After that everything was silent. Except for the sounds I made while morphing human and Cat’s anxious breathing, everything was silent. Flying a Bug fighter as a human was a little different experience, but I was able to quickly learn to pilot just as well as when I had been a Hork-Bajir.  
  
I tried to figure out where my meadow was as we flew around Earth trying to avoid the Yeerks’ attention. Suddenly I realized something. We couldn’t land in my meadow or close to it. What if the Yeerks found it there?  
  
Then it would be easy for them to find both Ax and myself.  
  
“Cat?” I asked.  
  
“Yeah?” She said, distracted by monitoring the sensors. “How do you feel about a short flight? I need to land the Bug fighter a little bit away from my meadow. When the Yeerks find their missing Bug fighter I don’t want myself or Ax to die.”  
  
“That’d be good.” She replied, still distracted by the sensors.  
  
We didn’t encounter any problems with the Yeerks as we entered the Earth’s atmosphere. What we did encounter problems with was finding where we needed to go. I had to demorph and morph again before we finally found the right area.  
  
I landed the fighter by the mountain lake where me and my friends had destroyed a Yeerk ship. One of our earliest victories.  
  
I demorphed and followed Cat outside. I spread my wings as I felt Earth’s air and heat. I had never thought I would return. I was more than eager to start flying, but didn’t try to rush Cat. I did, however, go onto a low branch of the nearest tree.  
  
“We’re back.” She finally said.  
  
 _Yeah, we’re back home._ I replied. _We’ll have to go to the others as soon as possible. They’ll need to know I’m fine as I’ve been gone...I don’t know how long._  
  
Cat nodded nervously.  
  
“Are you sure they’ll...” Cat started and then stopped.  
  
 _Don’t worry, it will be fine. And if anyone tries to get to you they’ll have to go through me first._  
  
This made Cat smile. A few minutes later and we were flying towards my meadow. The flight was quiet since, I guess, Cat was still nervous at the thought of meeting the other Animorphs. The only one I was really worried about was Rachel. She would be mad at me both for nearly getting lost in space and also for bringing a new girlfriend back.  
  
As we neared the barn, my hawk eyes saw all of my friends going inside.  
  
 _Tobias hasn’t been by my scoop recently._ I heard Ax say faintly after everyone had entered the barn.  
  
 _Ax!_ I shouted loudly, hoping he could hear me. _Tell the others I’m here with a friend!_  
  
After that Ax’s thought-speak became hard to follow as he was having to explain about what I had just said. Soon two of my friends, Jake followed closely by Rachel, came out of the barn and looked into the sky where they saw two identical birds.  
  
I entered the barn in my usual way while Cat landed.  
  
 _Cat is going to need some clothes._ I said and Cassie came out with an outfit.  
  
I could hear Rachel, even with all that was going on, still criticizing Cassie’s lack of fashion sense. Rachel was a great fighter even though you wouldn’t think that by looking at her. Soon Cat and the others were in the barn. I started to preen once I saw that Cat was seated.  
  
“Do you have the box?” Rachel asked angrily. “You left all of us here thinking you were dead and that the Yeerks had the box. And now we find out you gave the morphing power to this…girl. What if she is another David? What if she turns on us like he did?”  
  
“I’m not going to turn on you. I want to join you.” Cat said. “I was captured by the Skrit Na and Tobias brought me back home. I’m not going to do anything that endangers him.”  
  
“So because of Birdboy you’re going to get yourself thrown into insane situations?” Marco asked. “You got back safely once, but who says you’re going to get out of this alive?”  
  
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to quit because I’m scared.”  
  
I could see a brief smile on Marco’s face. A smile that showed that he thought her joining would be a good idea. I was glad that he would be on her side.  
  
“So how exactly did the two of you meet? I doubt you encountered the Skrit Na on Earth. You would’ve been back a lot sooner if you did.” Jake said and then I started to explain.  
  
I watched everyone’s reactions as I told my story. Not even half-way through I could tell Rachel was having to hold back a lot of anger. We weren’t in a relationship now and I was growing tired of how they always ended up working. We’d go apart and then we’d get back together. It wasn’t a way to live. It hurt to see her realizing what we had was gone and I hoped she’d understand why one day. I also hoped she wouldn’t take her anger out on Cat.  
  
“This should be a group decision.” Jake said. “I vote she joins us. If Tobias trusts her, I trust her.”  
  
“I vote she joins us.” Cassie said. “She doesn’t appear like David did.”  
  
 _I vote she joins us._ I said without saying anything afterward. My story should be reason enough.  
  
“I vote she joins us.”Marco said with a grimace. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I agree with Cassie. She doesn’t look like a David.”  
  
 _I vote she joins us._ Ax said and turned a stalk eye towards me. _If my shorm trusts her, I trust his judgment._  
  
We all turned to look at Rachel. Her vote wouldn’t matter at this point. All she could do was show that she hated Cat because of me.  
  
“I vote she joins us.” Rachel said slowly. “As much as I want to yell at Tobias right now, he’s a good judge of character. Especially where relationships are concerned.”  
  
“She’s in then.” Jake said with a smile. “But later we’ll have to discuss your…outing.”  
  
 _Yes, Jake._ I said as I was just glad to be done with the meeting.  
  
The others left while Cassie, Cat, and myself stayed for a little while. We talked and laughed. Cassie was good at getting Cat acquainted with her new life.  
  
“Do I have time for a flight before it gets dark?” Cat asked and looked up at me.  
  
“Sure, just come back after it gets dark. Hawks like Tobias aren’t meant to fly at night.” Cassie said with a small grin.  
  
 _I’ll wait outside._ I said and exited the barn.  
  
After a few minutes of circling around the barn Cat came out in her red-tailed hawk morph.  
  
 _I love you._ I told her.  
  
 _I love you too._ Cat replied.  
  
And, with that, we flew towards the setting sun. I didn’t know what would happen from here. I didn’t know if either of us would survive or even if our relationship would be long term.  
  
All I cared about now was Cat flying beside me.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fic for my friend Cat. I actually tempted her with it so she would join a site. I am not planning on writing a sequel. If I did, however, it would involve Cat adapting to being an Animorph and how the Yeerks handle the Bug fighter Tobias stole. I have a few different ideas of how the latter would go down, but I am not planning on writing it.
> 
> I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to read this.


End file.
